Having your own domain name is your way of claiming a piece of the internet real estate. As a blogger, this is extremely important seeing that you intend to make money off that piece.
For a small annual fee, you can have your own domain that you can use on your website, blog and even email address, among other activities.
Now, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but top-level domains are running out. And it’s nearly impossible to reclaim a domain name once someone else takes it. It’s a costly affair, to say the least.
For that and many other reasons, it’s critical that as a blogger, you claim your domain name while you still can.
Let’s look at more reasons why you can’t afford to risk your domain being claimed by someone else:
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Someone Else Will Claim Your Domain Name
Nowadays, it’s so easy to start a blog. The next blog that goes live could be in your niche and your desired name could be taken just like that.
Once it’s taken, you’ll have to build your blog on a name you probably don’t like.
So, if you’re serious about blogging, you better grab your own domain name now. I’d even suggest going ahead and registering your desired domain name before setting up the blog.
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You Get a Customised Email Address
If you didn’t have a blog and you asked me for only one reason why you’d need your own domain name, I’d tell you it’s so that you could have a customised email address.
Imagine how it’d be replacing your name1991@gmail.com with a cool firstname@lastname.com. Everyone else is using tired@hotmail.com or the said Gmail addresses.
With a blog, it becomes even more important to have a custom email address. To differentiate yourself, from the pack, a nice name@blogname.com goes a long way.
A custom email address is also more memorable – which is never bad.
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For Personal Branding
When starting a blog, it’s good to look at the site as not just a place to post content but also as a component of the brand that is you.
Who’re you without the blog? How much would be left of you if the blog were to go down one day?
Whom you are without your blog is the brand you’ve created, not necessarily on but, with the help of that blog. Having your own domain name helps you define your brand better through, for instance, a customised email address and the professional look you give yourself.
Do you want people to find you when the look you up on search engines?
Then a domain name will help you with that.
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You Can Use It Anywhere
A custom domain allows you to comfortably use any blogging platform. All the popular platforms such as WordPress, Blogger and Tumblr allow custom domains.
This means that you don’t have to inconvenience your active community even when you decide to switch. Moreover, you get to enjoy the professionalism that a custom domain brings with it.
Also, by using subdomains, you can extend the use of a domain name to a variety of places. All you have to do is ask your registrar to help you with setting up subdomains. For instance, you can use a subdomain such as photos.blogname.com for your Flickr account. You can also set them to redirect to various social media accounts.
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It’s Cheap
For around $10, you can reserve your domain name for a whole year. Domains are priced really competitively and if you suspect that your registrar is overcharging you, you might want to look somewhere else.
Also, often you’ll find that a hosting plan comes with free domain registration.
If you consider the long-run cost of not registering your domain name, you see that registering upfront is really cheap.
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It Enhances Credibility
Let’s use the example of Blogger, which is a free blogging platform. You’ll find that there are all kinds of blogs on this platform. And while some are fairly good, most are bogus intended to manipulate search engines.
Thus, most people tend to be suspicious of any .blogspot sites – which is what you get when you opt for a free domain name on the platform.
Having a custom domain name shows your target audience that you’re serious and thus can be trusted to provide valuable content.
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It Gives You More Flexibility
Owning your domain name gives you total control over your blog, including the setup and any software to be installed.
With this kind of control, you can easily use HTML pages to load WordPress, add and special scripts, etc.
As you continue to grow your blog, you’ll realise that the flexibility offered by a registered domain is vital. It lets you expand your site for easy traffic and money generation.
Are You a Serious Blogger?
If you’re a serious blogger and are serious about your blog, grab your own domain name now before someone does and enjoy all the added benefits.
Are there any reasons a blogger should have their own domain name? Let’s talk in the comments.
